Real Estate Tech News

President Donald Trump announced today his proposal for the fiscal year 2019 budget, which would allot for a slight bump in funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The budget requests $41.24 billion for 2019, an increase of 1% from the $40.7 billion in 2017. Last year, the president cut the department’s budget by 13.2% or $6.2 billion.

Stephane De Baets’ Elevated Returns, a New York-based asset management outfit, may be riding an express chairlift into the history books. The firm, which acquired the St. Regis resort in Aspen, Colo., in 2010, won approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission late last month to spin off the property under the ownership of a newly formed real estate investment trust (REIT) called Aspen REIT.

Singapore ousted China to become the biggest Asian investor in U.S. commercial property last year. It was the first time since 2012 that the city outspent China, according to data from Real Capital Analytics and Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Deals by Chinese investors plunged 66 percent to $5.9 billion as regulators cracked down on capital outflows.

Skyrocketing New York City rents can be blamed at least in part on the rise of the home-sharing service Airbnb, a new study has claimed. The report, released Tuesday, analyzed Airbnb activity between September 2014 and August of 2017 and was published by McGill University in Montreal. It was commissioned by the Hotel Trades Council, a union organization, and co-sponsored by local New York neighborhood groups.

The real estate industry was relatively slow to adopt technology, but it’s now quickly catching up. That means that virtually every part of the industry is seeing a lot of startup activity. Juniper Square, which today announced it has raised a $6 million Series A round led by Felicis Ventures, is tackling the real estate investment side by helping investment managers raise and manage outside capital for their projects.